Embodiments of the present inventive concepts relate to an image sensor, and more particularly to an image sensor which is capable of performing color imaging and phase difference auto focus, and/or a data processing system having the image sensor.
PAF may mean a phase detection auto focus or a phase difference auto focus. In photography, a dynamic range is the range between the maximum and minimum measurable light intensities. A varying degree of light intensity depends on a device that is used as a capture device, which decides an overall performance in a dynamic range of an imaging sensor.
A wide dynamic range (WDR) is also referred to as a high dynamic range (HDR). A WDR technology physically increases a pixel performance or increases a dynamic range of an imaging sensor by applying multiple exposure times to each pixel in a digital manner.
The ideal WDR sensor is a sensor with a high full well capacity (FWC). The FWC is defined as the maximum number of electrons of an incident signal that can be accommodated without saturation during readout. As the FWC increase, the dynamic range of an image sensor is increased.
In a digital signal lens reflex (DSLR) camera, a camera sensor includes pixels which can directly detect a phase difference so as to reduce a space occupied by a phase difference auto-focus module. Accordingly, the DSLR camera may perform an auto-focus. Such a technology is applied to a mirrorless DSLR.
The phase difference detecting pixel of the related art shields a portion of a photodiode with metal or the like, and detects only light incident onto an unshielded portion of the photodiode. In the related art, a method of detecting a phase difference using a shielded portion and a unshielded portion, that is, two pixels, has a problem that an image quality of a color image is deteriorated by two pixels which irregularly operate.